International Season 1983/84, Part 4

April

Spain
defeated Denmark in a friendly. They would square off again within months in
the semifinals of the Euros.

Belgium
defeated Poland in its first match since the Standard-Waterschei scandal. The
team’s defense now decimated (without Eric Gerets and Walter Meeuws) included
many new players such as Walter De Greef, Paul Lambrichts and Paul Theunis.

Austria
and Greece matchup ended in a scoreless tie in a match commemorating the
Austrian Federation’s 80th Anniversary. Hungary had been the initial guests but had refused.

France
defeated West Germany in another high profile friendly at Strasbourg.

Frantisek
Havranek managed Czechoslovakia for the last time as the Czechs defeated
Denmark.

The
West Germans gained a measure of revenge fore the 1982 World Cup defeat as they
defeated Italy in Zurich, in a match celebrating FIFA’s 80th
anniversary.

The
match was staged in Zurich, Switzerland, where FIFA’s headquarters are located.

A
few days later the Italians toured North America and played friendlies with
Canada and USA. The match vs. Canada was the first ever meeting between the two
nations. The match vs. USA was the first match between the countries since 1934
World Cup. This was also the first time ever that Italy had played on
artificial turf.

This
tour had negative consequences for rising star Roberto Mancini of Sampdoria. He
broke curfew while in the United States, as a result Enzo Bearzot never called
him up again.

He
had to wait until 1986, when Azeglio Vicini became national team manager to be
included in the national team set up again.

In
Spain’s friendly vs. Hungary, Spanish striker Hipolito Rincon suffered a Pelvic
injury which ruled him out of the Euros. Real Madrid’s new young star Emilio
Butragueno was called in as his replacement.